The present invention pertains to earth working apparatus and more particularly to a self-propelled soil stabilizer which pulverizes and mixes soil over which it travels.
Soil stabilizers are commonly utilized to treat earth by breaking up clumps and effecting a thorough mixing of the soil. Traditionally, soil stabilizers comprise a self-propelled vehicle which propels a rotor having a horizontal axis of rotation. The rotor is driven so that teeth thereon pulverize and mix the soil as the vehicle traverses the ground surface. Exemplary of known soil stabilizer design is that disclosed in U.S. Nelson Pat. No. 3,795,279 issued Mar. 5, 1974 and owned by the assignee of this invention. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth at length.
Generally, soil stabilizers heretofore proposed have involved a rotor designed for operation in a single direction, whether it be forward or reverse, with the teeth being oriented accordingly. It has been found, however, that depending upon certain variables, such as soil composition and the desired soil treatment for instance, one stabilizer may be less effective than another having an oppositely rotatable rotor. Consequently, the versatility of known stabilizers is considerably limited.
It would be desirable, then, to enhance the versatility of a stabilizer. Moreover, it is desirable that this be accomplished without requiring complex equipment or excessive efforts on the part of an operator to adapt the stabilizer to different conditions.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to minimize or obviate problems of the type previously discussed.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel soil stabilizer.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel stabilizer whose rotor can be easily adapted for rotation in different directions.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel mount for a stabilizer tooth.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel tooth mounting which effectively retains a tooth during a soil treating operation and promotes rapid reorientation of the tooth for opposite rotation of the rotor.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel tooth mount which effectively retains a tooth absent the need for a separate fastener.